By Andrew Horschak
Sports Correspondent
The Burlington girls tennis program won’t be represented in the WIAA Individual State Tournament, but the Demons who took part in the sectional on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at Lake Geneva Badger can be satisfied in knowing that they put up a fight in their season finale.
“I know I have said it before, but the girls did truly play some of their best tennis at subsectionals and sectionals,” Burlington coach Rose Dolatowski said.
Sophomore May Jagodzinski placed second at No. 2 singles for the Demons. She started her day by outlasting Watertown junior Celeste Bayer, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, in a match that included a two-hour rain delay. In the final, Jagodzinski suffered a 6-1, 6-2 defeat to Sun Prairie senior Julia Hernesman, who Dolatowski called “a very seasoned and tough opponent.”
Hernesman (22-1) handed Jagodzinski only her third loss in 20 matches.
“It was a two-hour match,” Dolatowski said. “So, the score does not reflect the competitive play.”
At No. 1 singles, senior Lacey Londre (6-10) dropped her first match to Sun Prairie junior Lats Sysouvanh, 6-1, 7-5. Sysouvanh, a state qualifier as a freshman and sophomore, ended up winning her next two matches to claim the sectional crown and improve to 25-2.
“The first set was all Lats,” Dolatowski said, “but Lacey played extremely smart the second set and led all the way until 5-4. It was a great effort and finish for her career.”
At No. 1 doubles, seniors Alyssa Caliva and Katie Daujotas (8-8) lost to Stoughton seniors Kendra Halverson and Sydney Johnson, 7-5, 6-1. Halverson and Johnson (15-15) both made it to state last year with different doubles partners.
“They also played tremendous in the first set,” Dolatowski said about Caliva and Daujotas, who held a 5-4 lead at one point.
Sun Prairie edged Badger for the sectional title, 34-33, to qualify for the State Team Tournament Oct. 21-22 at Nielsen Stadium in Madison. Burlington ended up seventh out of 17 teams with 14 points.
The Individual State Tournament gets under way Thursday in Madison.
According to Dolatowski, she submitted Londre, Jagodzinski and Caliva-Daujotas for consideration as special qualifiers. However, a No. 2 player is not considered if the No. 1 player is not in the tournament.
Londre was a state singles qualifier as a freshman and a doubles qualifier with Hannah Cook last year.
“Lacey was discussed at length by the committee because of her history at the State Tournament and especially because of her recent win over (Racine St. Catherine’s junior) Rachael Anderson, who is seeded in the D-2 State Tournament. But it came down to too many losses on her record.”
In the end, the longtime Burlington coach was proud of her team.
“It was a good season,” Dolatowski said. “All players improved and peaked at the right time. That is what we strive for and all a coach can hope for.”
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